Date: April 24, 2018LISD students take on global problem at Student Innovation Challenge

At its meeting Monday evening, the Lockhart ISD Board of Trustees recognized a group of four Lockhart ISD students who participated in the Student Innovation Challenge at the National School Business Association (NSBA) annual conference this month.

In front of a packed audience, Lockhart High School (LHS) freshmen Kayle Castillo, Anijah Hughes, Jose Chynoweth, and Jaqueline De La Cruz were honored with Julayne Williams, an English teacher at LHS, for their outstanding performance.

The NSBA annual conference attracts the biggest influencers and brightest minds from around the world to discuss the future of education, but a few years ago, the NSBA realized the conference was missing was the voice of experts they actually serve--the students.

In 2015, DLR Group, an integrated design firm based in Austin with a global presence, partnered with NSBA to invite student voice into the conference with the Student Innovation Challenge, a learning exhibit that allows attendees to hear directly from students as they engage in project-based learning, collaboration, and teamwork to solve a global problem.

This year, LISD participated with two other student groups from College Station ISD and San Antonio ISD. They each tackled their individual team challenge of approaching safety and security through their chosen career and technical education strands. The challenge stated, "In the year 2030 you are recruited to join a task force to re-envision modern day society. How would your chosen CTE fields, Health & Science and Manufacturing, contribute to this new safe and secure reality?” In addition, all three teams collaborated to create an international organization in the future, similar to our United Nations.

Williams explained to the Board their final presentation in front of an audience of Texas school leaders was a mock trial in which they argued the responsibilities and liabilities of a global manufacturer in the future as it pertains to the health of the human race. Williams proudly added, “This presentation really stood out from the others through their creativity, information, and level of execution. Some of the feedback complimented their use of humor, portrayal of characters, and their overall ideas to resolve these problems.”

Each of the students also addressed the Board, sharing their insights from the experience, all in agreement the unique learning experience was both engaging and fun, something they would like to experience again. Castillo shared, “The opportunity was incredible and one I will never forget, but the thing I enjoyed the most is how we had the chance to collaborate with different minds from different districts and view their perspectives on the societal issue we were given.”

Superintendent Susan K. Bohn also attended the conference with LISD Board Vice President Carl Cisneros and LHS Principal Luciano Castro. They had the chance to see the students in action. Bohn said, “The way they presented was incredibly engaging, using technology to engage the audience, having us do a poll on our phones, using technology to create a robot voice, and using humor. It was really impressive. We have learned a lot from them and are looking for ways to replicate this type of engaging learning throughout Lockhart ISD.”

DLR Group K-12 Education Business Development leader Kate Miller and K-12 Education leader Taryn Kinney attended the recognition event at the Board meeting. Of the experience, Miller said, “It is inspiring to see the students’ growth from quiet listeners at the kick-off meeting to leaders as they present their response to the challenge statement to a large audience of education professionals. Working through the process of the challenge with the student teams is one of the most personally rewarding projects I get to be a part of each year.”

Bohn added, “The district would like to thank DLR Group and NSBA for inviting our #LISDChampions to participate in this engaging learning experience and challenging all of us to think more creatively in our approach to teaching and learning.”

To learn more about the National School Board Association, visit the NSBA website at www.nsba.org.